Universal architecture for client management extensions on monitoring, control, and configuration

ABSTRACT

Provided are techniques for, under control of an agent: receiving a request from a first database client to access a service from a set of services, wherein the agent is associated with the service; receiving a request from a second database client to access the service, wherein the agent is shared by the first database client and the second database client; combining information from the first database client and the second database client; and sending the combined information to the service using a single physical connection in a client-side Client Management Extension (CMX) connection, wherein the first database client and the second database client share the single physical connection.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/605,205, filed Oct. 23, 2009, whichapplication is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments of the invention relate to a universal architecture forclient management extensions on monitoring, control, and configuration.

2. Description of the Related Art

Databases are computerized information storage and retrieval systems.Relational databases are organized into tables that consist of rows andcolumns of data. The rows may be called tuples or records or rows. Adatabase typically has many tables, and each table typically hasmultiple rows and multiple columns. A query (e.g., a SQL statement) maybe described as a request for information from a database based onspecific conditions.

Modern database tools are emerging these days to facilitate databaseadministrators to monitor, control, and configure complicated anddistributed database environments more efficiently and effectively.Database environments typically include at least one client computer, atleast one database server computer, and at least one database. Due tothe distinct nature of different management functionalities (e.g.,monitoring, control, and configuration), those database tools are mostlybuilt on top of a wide variety of architectures, and each of thedatabase tools is equipped with a separate channel and protocol forcommunication among respective components in the database environments.Consequently, overall performance of those database environments can benegatively impacted under the operations of a number of database toolsthat all function independently with their own channels and protocolswithin the database environments.

Moreover, individual, distinct architecture used by each additionaldatabase tool imposes additional development, deployment, andmaintenance effort for the database administrators. The architecture maybe described as how each database tool may be implemented. However, dueto increasing complexity and heterogeneity, it is far from a trivialtask to resolve such difficult points in modern database environments.Hierarchically, various database clients can operate on top of oneanother as a sequence of call stack layers, where, for example, anapplication server (i.e., the client computer may be the applicationserver running applications) can invoke a persistence layer which can inturn call into a database driver. Thus, a call stack may be said todescribe the layers that are in use when an application is running Apersistence layer may be described as mapping runtime objects (e.g.,tables and objects). A database driver may be described as enablingcommunication between a client computer and a database server computer.Concurrently, multiple database tools can also function in parallelindependently. Thus, there is a need for accommodating hierarchical(i.e., with reference to the call stack) and concurrent managementfunctionalities leveraged by the database environments.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Provided are a method, computer program product, and system for, undercontrol of an: receiving a request from a first database client toaccess a service from a set of services, wherein the agent is associatedwith the service; receiving a request from a second database client toaccess the service, wherein the agent is shared by the first databaseclient and the second database client; combining information from thefirst database client and the second database client; and sending thecombined information to the service using a single physical connectionin a client-side Client Management Extension (CMX) connection, whereinthe first database client and the second database client share thesingle physical connection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers representcorresponding parts throughout:

FIG. 1 illustrates, in a block diagram, a computing architecture inaccordance with certain embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates, in a block diagram, further details of a client-sideCMX connection in accordance with certain embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates, in a block diagram, further details of a server-sideCMX connection in accordance with certain embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates, in a flow diagram, an overview of how the genericprotocol works in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 4 is formedby FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, and 4F.

FIG. 5 illustrates, in a flow diagram, an overview of how the optimizedcall stack works in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 5 isformed by FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system architecture that may be used in accordancewith certain embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings which form a part hereof and which illustrate severalembodiments of the invention. It is understood that other embodimentsmay be utilized and structural and operational changes may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates, in a block diagram, a computing architecture inaccordance with certain embodiments of the invention. A client computer100 is coupled to a server computer 160. The server computer 160 iscoupled to a repository 190 storing a database 192. The server computer160 provides the client computer 100 with access to a database 192. Theclient computer 100 is coupled to distributed databases 180, and eachdatabase client 110, 112, 114 can access any of the distributeddatabases 180. A database client 110, 112, 114 may be an applicationserver, persistence layer, a database driver, or a database utility. Adistributed database may be described as multiple database serversspread across a network of computers.

The client computer 100 includes multiple database clients shown in FIG.1 as database client A 110, database client B 112, and database client C114. Although three database clients 110, 112, 114 are shown, any numberof database clients may be running at client computer 100 in variousembodiments. In certain embodiments, the database clients 110, 112, 114may be described as complicated enterprise applications.

The client computer 100 also includes an agent factory 120 and multipleagents shown in FIG. 1 as agent X 130 and agent Y 132. The agent factory120 generates agents 130, 132. Although two agents 130, 132 are shown,there may be any number of agents running at client computer 100 invarious embodiments.

The server computer 160 includes multiple services shown in FIG. 1 asservice X 170 and service Y 172. Although two services 170, 172 areshown, there may be any number of services running at server computer160 in various embodiments.

On the server computer 160 various services (such as services 170, 172)are provided to perform a variety of management functionalities (e.g.,monitoring, control, and configuration). For example, a monitoringservice allows performance and health monitoring of live systems, acontrol service enables remote administration of overall environment,and a configuration service allows real time property configuration oflive systems. A matching agent (such as agent 130 and agent 132) is alsoprovided for each of the services that provide management functionality.In FIG. 1, agent X 130 is provided for service X 170, and agent Y 132 isprovided for service Y 172. The agent 130, 132 communicates with thecorresponding service 170, 172 on behalf of one or more database clients110, 112, 114 to perform certain management functionality on the servercomputer 160.

A connection 140 between the client computer 100 and the server computer160 may be said to be formed by Client Management Extension (CMX)connections 150, 151. Also, a physical connection resides underneath CMXconnections 150, 151. CMX connections 150, 151 are used to route databetween the client computer 100 and the server computer 160. Inparticular, there is a client-side CMX connection 150 coupled to aserver-side CMX connection 151.

As shown in FIG. 1, the infrastructure may be described as consisting ofthree types of components: the client components, the agent components,and the service components. The infrastructure supports heterogeneousclients, which can be, for example, application servers, persistencelayers, database drivers, and database utilities. The applicationservers, persistence layers, database drivers, and database utilitiesmay be described as client runtimes.

In FIG. 1, multiple services 170, 172 are running on the same servercomputer 160. However, in various embodiments, the services 170, 172 canrun on more than one server computer under the provided infrastructure.In addition, multiple services 170, 172 may share a common repository190, which is responsible for persistent storage.

In FIG. 1, the repository 190 stores the database 192 and may comprisean array of storage devices, such as Direct Access Storage Devices(DASDs), Just a Bunch of Disks (JBOD), Redundant Array of IndependentDisks (RAID), virtualization device, etc.

Embodiments provide a universal architecture for client managementextensions (150, 151) that facilitate monitoring, control, andconfiguration of database environments (such as the one shown in FIG. 1)with distributed databases 180 and database clients 110, 112, 114. Theuniversal architecture is equipped with a polymorphic infrastructurethat can be leveraged to build a variety of specific managementfunctionalities. A polymorphic infrastructure describes the ability todefine many independent services (e.g., 170, 172) running on one servercomputer 160 that share a physical connection (e.g., formed by 150, 151)to the client computer 100).

Moreover, a generic protocol is provided in the architecture to enablecommunication of distinct management information (i.e., data) on top ofthe same infrastructure. The generic protocol is used for multiplemanagement functionalities. That is, the generic protocol is notspecific to any management functionality. The generic protocol supportsnot only synchronous but also asynchronous messaging mechanisms. Thiscan provide great performance benefit because some managementfunctionality may work best with a request/response paradigm whileothers may seek to minimize performance cost with non-blockingmessaging.

Furthermore, the call stack for concurrent database clients is optimizedsuch that the call stack allows multiple database clients to share asame physical connection. Embodiments accumulate and combine distinctmanagement information (i.e., data) from hierarchical database clientsto provide a complete picture on the overall system and to optimize thenetwork flows.

FIG. 2 illustrates, in a block diagram, further details of a client-sideCMX connection 150 in accordance with certain embodiments. In FIG. 2,the client-side CMX connection 150 includes a client-side message queue210, client-side outgoing message reader thread 220, physical connection230, client-side incoming message reader thread 260, and client-sidemanagement processors 270. Agent 290 may represent, for example, agent X130 or agent Y 132 in FIG. 1. The physical connection 230 may bedescribed as a physical socket.

The client-side message queue 210 includes client-side message-1 212through client-side message-n 214. The ellipses and the use of thesuffixes “1” and “n” indicate that there may be any number ofclient-side messages in the client-side message queue 210 in variousembodiments. For example, a message may be used by an agent 290 toreport statistics (e.g., about a database driver) to a service 170, 172.Another example of a message is one that requests configuration settingsfrom a service 170, 172.

The client-side management processors 270 include client-side coreprocessor 271 and client-side management processor-1 272 throughclient-side management processor-m. The ellipses and the use of thesuffixes “1” and “m” indicate that there may be any number ofclient-side management processors in various embodiments.

The client-side message queue 210 receives an outgoing message from anagent 290. The outgoing message is stored in the client-side messagequeue 210 until the outgoing message is sent to the client-side outgoingmessage reader thread 220. The client-side outgoing message readerthread 220 sends the outgoing message to the physical connection 230.The physical connection 230 is coupled to network 250. The network 250is coupled to the server computer 160. The physical connection 230 sendsthe outgoing message through the network 250 to the server computer 160,and the server computer 160 processes the message and returns anincoming message through the network 250 to the physical connection 230.

The physical connection 230 receives an incoming message from thenetwork 250 and forwards the incoming message to the client-sideincoming message reader thread 260. The client-side incoming messagereader thread 260 sends the incoming message to the client-sidemanagement processors 270. The incoming message is processed by one ofthe client-side management processors 272 . . . 274. Each client-sidemanagement processor 272 . . . 274 has a name and a version. In certainembodiments, a management functionality is associated with a particularclient-side management processor 272 . . . 274, and messages associatedwith a particular management functionality are routed to the associatedclient-side management processor 272 . . . 274. The client-sidemanagement processor 272 . . . 274 forwards the input message to agent290. Although one agent 290 is shown, any number of agents may becoupled to the CMX connection 150, and, then the client-side managementprocessor 272 . . . 274 forwards the input message to the appropriateagent (e.g., the agent that sent a message requesting data from aservice 170, 172).

Furthermore, beneath the agents (such as agent X 130 and agent Y 132)there may be multiple CMX connections, and each of the CMX connectionsis equipped with a message queuing architecture for the messages, asshown in FIG. 2.

When the agent 290 provides messages to the CMX connection 150, there isno processing done by the agent 290 for the thread running on the agent290 to send the message. With embodiments, the work of sending themessages is offloaded to the CMX connection 150 outgoing message readerthread 220. The outgoing message reader thread 220 is responsible forprocessing the message queue 210 and writing to the physical connection230 such that communication has minimal impact to the client computer100. Similarly, the incoming message reader thread 260 processesincoming messages over the physical connection 230. This allowsasynchronous messages to be received and processed independent of theexisting database client 110, 112, 114 threads.

FIG. 3 illustrates, in a block diagram, further details of a server-sideCMX connection 151 in accordance with certain embodiments. In FIG. 3,the server-side CMX connection 151 includes a server-side message queue310, server-side outgoing message reader thread 320, physical connection330, server-side incoming message reader thread 360, and server-sidemanagement processors 370. Service 390 may represent, for example,service X 170 or service Y 172 in FIG. 1. The physical connection 330may be described as a physical socket.

The server-side message queue 310 includes server-side message-1 312through server-side message-n 314. The ellipses and the use of thesuffixes “1” and “p” indicate that there may be any number of messagesin the server-side message queue 310 in various embodiments. Forexample, a message may be used by a service 390 to report statistics(e.g., about a database driver) to an agent 130, 132. Another example ofa message is one that provides configuration settings to an agent 130,132.

The server-side management processors 370 include server-side coreprocessor 371 and server-side management processor-1 372 throughserver-side management processor-m. The ellipses and the use of thesuffixes “1” and “q” indicate that there may be any number of managementprocessors in various embodiments.

The server-side message queue 310 receives an outgoing message from aservice 390. The outgoing message is stored in the server-side messagequeue 310 until the outgoing message is sent to the server-side outgoingmessage reader thread 320. The server-side outgoing message readerthread 320 sends the outgoing message to the physical connection 330.The physical connection 330 is coupled to network 350. The network 350is coupled to the client computer 100. The physical connection 330 sendsthe outgoing message through the network 350 to the client computer 100,and the client computer 100 processes the message and returns anincoming message through the network 350 to the physical connection 330.

The physical connection 330 receives an incoming message from thenetwork 350 and forwards the incoming message to the server-sideincoming message reader thread 360. The server-side incoming messagereader thread 360 sends the incoming message to the server-sidemanagement processors 370. The incoming message is processed by one ofthe server-side management processors 372 . . . 374. Each server-sidemanagement processor 372 . . . 374 has a name and a version. In certainembodiments, each management functionality is associated with aparticular server-side management processor 372 . . . 374, and messagesassociated with a particular management functionality are routed to theassociated server-side management processor 372 . . . 374. Theserver-side management processor 372 . . . 374 forwards the inputmessage to service 390. Although one service 390 is shown, any number ofservices may be coupled to the CMX connection 151, and, then theserver-side management processor 372 . . . 374 forwards the inputmessage to the appropriate service (e.g., the service that is to processa message from a particular agent 130, 132).

Furthermore, beneath the services (such as service X 170 and service Y172) there may be multiple CMX connections, and each of the CMXconnections is equipped with a message queuing architecture for themessages, as shown in FIG. 3.

When the service 390 provides messages to the CMX connection 151, thereis no processing done by the service 390 for the thread running on theservice 390 to send the message. With embodiments, the work of sendingthe messages is offloaded to the CMX connection 151 outgoing messagereader thread 320. The outgoing message reader thread 320 is responsiblefor processing the message queue 310 and writing to the physicalconnection 330 such that communication has minimal impact to the servercomputer 160. Similarly, the incoming message reader thread 360processes incoming messages over the physical connection 330. Thisallows asynchronous messages to be received and processed independent ofthe existing database client 110, 112, 114 threads.

In certain embodiments, multiple agents 130, 132 use one client-side CMXconnection 150 once the client-side CMX connection 150 has beenestablished. In certain embodiments, multiple services 170, 172 use oneclient-side CMX connection 151 once the server-side CMX connection 151has been established.

In certain embodiments, each agent 130, 132 accumulates and combinesinformation from multiple database clients 110, 112, 114.

In certain embodiments, at least one agent 130, 132 accumulates andcombines information from multiple agents 130, 132. In such embodiments,a message queue may be included in the agent 130, 132 performing theaccumulation.

In certain embodiments, at least one service 170, 172 accumulates andcombines information from multiple services 170, 172. In suchembodiments, a message queue may be included in the service 170, 172performing the accumulation.

In certain embodiments, the message queue 210 accumulates and combinesinformation from multiple agents 130, 132. In certain embodiments, themessage queue 310 accumulates and combines information from multipleservices 170, 172.

In certain embodiments, the physical connection 230, 330 accumulates andcombines information from multiple CMX connections. In such embodiments,a message queue may be included in the physical connection 230, 330performing the accumulation.

Embodiments employ a generic protocol for the agents and the processorsto communicate in an efficient, optimized, and flexible way toaccommodate various management functionalities. The following areaspects of the generic protocol:

-   -   1. The generic protocol provides on-the-wire transport type        flexibility. The generic protocol enables data to be at byte        level, while data formats, such as JavaScript® Object Notation        (JSON) or Extensible Markup Language (XML), can be easily        plugged in (JAVA is a trademark of Sun Microsystems in the        United States, other countries, or both).    -   2. The underlying messaging mechanism can be either synchronous        or asynchronous. This is useful because some management        functionality may work best with a request/response paradigm        whereas other management functionality, such as monitoring        functionality, may seek to minimize performance cost with        asynchronous messaging. The configuration functionality can also        exploit asynchronous messaging due to the asynchronous nature of        dynamic reconfiguration. The configuration functionality may be        used to retrieve configuration settings and to update        configuration values.    -   3. Management processors 272 . . . 274, 372 . . . 374 defined        and implemented on top of the generic protocol to provide the        processing logic of particular management functionality. Each        management processor 272 . . . 274, 372 . . . 374 contains a        name and a version. In certain embodiments, each management        functionality is associated with a particular management        processor 272 . . . 274, 372 . . . 374. Furthermore, the        management processor 272 . . . 274, 372 . . . 374 implementation        understands how to process the messages for that given        management processor 272 . . . 274, 372 . . . 374 protocol, and        the management processor 272 . . . 274, 372 . . . 374 also knows        whether to use synchronous messaging, asynchronous messaging, or        a combination of both messaging types.    -   4. The management processor 272 . . . 274, 372 . . . 374 level        negotiation enables support of different levels of management        processors 272 . . . 274, 372 . . . 374. In certain embodiments,        in an enterprise system, upgrades to new management processors        272 . . . 274, 372 . . . 374 do not impact their ability to        function at compatible levels. When a CMX connection 150, 151 is        established, a particular management processor 272 . . . 274,        372 . . . 374 level is negotiated prior to actual communication.        This negotiation is handled by the core processors 271, 371 of        CMX connections 150, 151. A level may also be described as a        version.    -   5. Heterogeneous messaging over a single physical connection is        supported such that messages from various agents 130, 132, 290        can be accumulated, combined, and sent on the same physical        connection 230. Also, with the heterogeneous messaging over a        single physical connection, messages from various services 170,        172, 390 and management processors 372 . . . 374 can be        accumulated, combined, and sent on the same physical connection        330.    -   6. The core processor 271, 371 provides basic functionality for        the generic protocol. The core processor 271, 371 provides the        level negotiation for the core processor and for the customized        management processors 272 . . . 274, 372 . . . 374 of specific        management functionality. In addition, the core processor 271,        371 also performs error handling.

FIG. 4 illustrates, in a flow diagram, an overview of how the genericprotocol works in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 4 is formedby FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, and 4F. Control begins at block 400 of FIG.4A with the server computer 160 being started with a management service(e.g., service X 170 or service Y 172). In block 402, the databaseclient 110, 112, 114 asks an agent 130, 132 to establish a client-sideCMX connection 150. In block 404, a client-side CMX connection 150negotiates a base generic protocol level by sending a request with aclient-side core processor version of the client-side core processor 271as an argument using the client-side core processor 271 to theserver-side core processor 371. In block 406, the server-side coreprocessor 371 returns the minimum between the actual version of theserver-side core processor 371 and the requested version of theclient-side core processor 271. In block 408, the agent 130, 132receives the reply, and the client-side CMX connection 150 isestablished.

In block 410, the database client 110, 112, 114 wishes to communicatewith a management service (e.g., service X 170 or service Y 172). Fromblock 410 of FIG. 4A, processing continues to block 412 of FIG. 4B.

In block 412, the client-side CMX connection 150 negotiates the versionof a client-side management processor 272 . . . 274 in the client-sideCMX connection 150 and a corresponding server-side management processor372 . . . 374 in the server-side CMX connection 151, where themanagement processors 272 . . . 274, 372 . . . 374 correspond to themanagement service, and where the negotiation includes sending a requestwith a client-side management processor version as the argument usingthe client-side core processor 271 to the server-side core processor371. In block 414, the server-side core processor 371 receives therequest and returns the minimum between the actual version of theserver-side management processor 372 . . . 374 and the requested versionof the client-side management processor 272 . . . 274. In block 416, theclient-side CMX connection 150 receives this reply, and the client-sidemanagement processor 272 . . . 274 and the server-side managementprocessor 372 . . . 374 are marked as registered on this connection. Anyfuture attempts to use this client-side management processor 272 . . .274 or this server-side management processor 372 . . . 374 does not needto be re-negotiated.

In block 418, it is determined whether the client-side CMX connection150 is initiating a message. If so, processing continues to block 420,otherwise, processing continues to block 440. That is, if theserver-side CMX connection 151 is initiating a message, processingcontinues to block 440.

In block 420, it is determined whether the message initiated by theclient-side CMX connection 150 is a synchronous message. If so,processing continues to block 422 (FIG. 4C), otherwise, processingcontinues to block 434 (FIG. 4D). That is, if the message initiated bythe client-side CMX connection 150 is an asynchronous message,processing continues to block 434 (FIG. 4D).

In FIG. 4C, in block 422, a synchronous message is invoked on theclient-side CMX connection 150 for a management processor 272 . . . 274to which a reply message will be returned. In block 424, the synchronousmessage is received by the server-side CMX connection 151 from theclient-side CMX connection 150. In block 426, the synchronous message isforwarded (i.e., passed) by the server-side CMX connection 151 to acorresponding management processor 372 . . . 374 for processing. Inblock 428, the management processor 372 . . . 374 generates a replymessage and returns this reply message to the server-side CMX connection151. In block 430, the reply message is sent by the server-side CMXconnection 151 to the client-side CMX connection 150. In block 432, theclient-side CMX connection 150 receives the reply message.

In FIG. 4D, in block 434, an asynchronous message is invoked on theclient-side CMX connection 150 for a management processor 272 . . . 274.In block 436, the asynchronous message is received by the server-sideCMX connection 151. In block 438, the asynchronous message is forwardedby the server-side CMX connection 151 to a corresponding managementprocessor 372 . . . 374 for processing.

In FIG. 4B, in block 440, it is determined whether the message initiatedby the server-side CMX connection 151 is a synchronous message. If so,processing continues to block 442 (FIG. 4E), otherwise, processingcontinues to block 454 (FIG. 4F). That is, if the message initiated bythe server-side CMX connection 151 is an asynchronous message,processing continues to block 454 (FIG. 4F).

In FIG. 4E, in block 442, a synchronous message is invoked on theserver-side CMX connection 151 for a management processor 372 . . . 374to which a reply message will be returned. In block 444, the synchronousmessage is received by the client-side CMX connection 150. In block 446,the synchronous message is forwarded by the client-side CMX connection151 to a corresponding management processor 272 . . . 274 forprocessing. In block 448, the management processor 272 . . . 274generates a reply message and returns this reply message to theclient-side CMX connection 150. In block 450, the reply message is sentby the client-side CMX connection 150 to the server-side CMX connection151. In block 452, the server-side CMX connection 151 receives the replymessage.

In FIG. 4F, in block 454, an asynchronous message is invoked on theserver-side CMX connection 151 for a management processor 372 . . . 374.In block 456, the asynchronous message is received by the client-sideCMX connection 150. In block 458, the asynchronous message is forwardedby the client-side CMX connection 150 to a corresponding managementprocessor 272 . . . 274 for processing.

With embodiments, the call stack of hierarchical database clients 110,112, 114 is enabled with an optimized way of management withinenterprise deployments. Traditionally, management of different databaseclients would be independent of each other. Moreover, any sort of remotemanagement would mean that each database client has its own channel. Incertain embodiments, the call stack in the architecture is optimizedsuch that the call stack allows the client layers to share the samephysical socket (e.g., physical connection 230). In addition, theinformation across different client layers can be combined to provide acomplete picture on the overall system and can also be accumulated tooptimize management data flows.

FIG. 5 illustrates, in a block diagram, an overview of how the optimizedcall stack works in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 5 isformed by FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D. Control begins at block 500 with theserver computer 160 being started with two services, service X 170 andservice Y 172. In block 502, three database clients (database client A110, database client B 112, and database client C 114) are started on aremote client computer 100. In block 504, the database client A calls anagent factory 120 to get an instance of agent X 130 for performingmanagement functionality with service X 170.

In block 506, the agent factory 120 creates an instance of agent X 130for communication with service X 170, and returns the instance of agentX 130 to the database client A 110. In block 507, the instance of agentX 130 creates a CMX connection, which in turn creates a physicalconnection. In block 508, the database client A 110 calls methods onagent X 130 to communicate with service X 170 on the server computer160.

In block 510, database client B 112 calls the agent factory 120 to getan instance of agent X 130 for performing management functionality withservice X 170. In block 512, the agent factory 120 returns the alreadycreated instance of agent X 130 to the database client B 112. In block514, the database client B 112 calls methods on agent X 130 tocommunicate with service X 170 on the server computer 160.

In block 516, agent X 130 has accumulated and combined information fromthe two different database clients (database client A 110 and databaseclient B 112) and the information is sent to service X 170 forprocessing using a single physical connection. Thus, the databaseclients share agent X 130 and share a single physical connection.

In block 518, the database client B 112 calls the agent factory 120 toget an instance of agent Y 132 for performing management functionalitywith service Y 172. In block 520, the agent factory 120 leverages theexisting CMX connection 150 to the server computer 160 and then createsan instance of agent Y 132 for communication with service Y 172. Inblock 522, the database client B 112 calls methods on agent Y 132 tocommunicate with service Y 172 on the server computer 160.

In block 524, database client C 114 calls the agent factory 120 to getan instance of agent Y 132 for performing management functionality withservice Y 172. In block 526, the agent factory 120 returns the alreadycreated instance of agent Y 132. In block 528, the database client C 114calls methods on agent Y 132 to communicate with service Y 172 on theserver computer 160. In block 530, agent Y 172 has accumulated andcombined information from the two different database clients (databaseclient B 112 and database client C 114) and the information is sent toservice Y 172 using a single physical connection for processing.

In addition to the scenarios described with reference to FIG. 5, agents130, 132 can establish connections to multiple other server computers,and similarly the connections can also be shared across agents.Moreover, each agent in this infrastructure can define customizedsend/receive semantics and asynchronous messaging. This enableshierarchical information to be combined such that a more completepicture of the system can be provided. This also allows accumulation ofdistinct information to optimize message flows.

Thus, embodiments provide a universal architecture for client managementextensions on monitoring, control, and configuration of databaseenvironments. The universal architecture provides a polymorphicinfrastructure, a generic protocol, and an optimized call stack.

With embodiments, the same physical connection can be reused my many CMXconnections 150, 151 if one already exists. With embodiments, a CMXconnection 150, 151 can be reused by agents 130, 132 if a CMX connection150, 151 is already established for the server computer 160. Withembodiments, an agent 130, 132 can be reused by database clients 110,112, 114 if the agent 130, 132 has already been instantiated for aparticular service 170, 172.

Additional Embodiment Details

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that may contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction processing (i.e.,running) system, apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that may communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction processing system for running or executing instructions,apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as JAVA®, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may run entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, may be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which run via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that may direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which run on the computeror other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The code implementing the described operations may further beimplemented in hardware logic or circuitry (e.g., an integrated circuitchip, Programmable Gate Array (PGA), Application Specific IntegratedCircuit (ASIC), etc.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system architecture 600 that may be used inaccordance with certain embodiments. The client computer 100 and/or theserver computer 160 may implement system architecture 600. The systemarchitecture 600 is suitable for storing and/or running program code andincludes at least one processor 602 coupled directly or indirectly tomemory elements 604 through a system bus 620. The memory elements 604may include local memory employed during actual running of the programcode, bulk storage, and cache memories which provide temporary storageof at least some program code in order to reduce the number of timescode must be retrieved from bulk storage during run time. The memoryelements 604 include an operating system 605 and one or more computerprograms 606.

Input/Output (I/O) devices 612, 614 (including but not limited tokeyboards, displays, pointing devices, etc.) may be coupled to thesystem either directly or through intervening I/O controllers 610.

Network adapters 608 may also be coupled to the system to enable thedata processing system to become coupled to other data processingsystems or remote printers or storage devices through interveningnetworks. Modems, cable modem and Ethernet cards are just a few of thecurrently available types of network adapters 608.

The system architecture 600 may be coupled to storage 616 (e.g., anon-volatile storage area, such as magnetic disk drives, optical diskdrives, a tape drive, etc.). The storage 616 may comprise an internalstorage device or an attached or network accessible storage. Computerprograms 606 in storage 616 may be loaded into the memory elements 604and run by a processor 602 in a manner known in the art.

The system architecture 600 may include fewer components thanillustrated, additional components not illustrated herein, or somecombination of the components illustrated and additional components. Thesystem architecture 600 may comprise any computing device known in theart, such as a mainframe, server, personal computer, workstation,laptop, handheld computer, telephony device, network appliance,virtualization device, storage controller, etc.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more instructions for implementing thespecified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in somealternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occurout of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown insuccession may, in fact, be processed substantially concurrently, or theblocks may sometimes be processed in the reverse order, depending uponthe functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, may be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware andcomputer instructions.

The foregoing description of embodiments of the invention has beenpresented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the preciseform disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in lightof the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the embodimentsbe limited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claimsappended hereto. The above specification, examples and data provide acomplete description of the manufacture and use of the composition ofthe embodiments. Since many embodiments may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the embodiments, the embodiments reside inthe claims hereinafter appended or any subsequently-filed claims, andtheir equivalents.

1. A method, comprising: under control of an agent running on a clientcomputer including a processor: receiving a request from a firstdatabase client to access a service from a set of services, wherein theagent is associated with the service; receiving a request from a seconddatabase client to access the service, wherein the agent is shared bythe first database client and the second database client; combininginformation from the first database client and the second databaseclient; and sending the combined information to the service using asingle physical connection in a client-side Client Management Extension(CMX) connection, wherein the first database client and the seconddatabase client share the single physical connection.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: under control of the client-side CMXconnection including a client-side core processor, one or moreclient-side management processors, and a client-side message queue:using a generic protocol that is used for multiple managementfunctionalities for communication with a server-side CMX connection. 3.The method of claim 2, wherein the management functionalities includemonitoring, control, and configuration functionalities.
 4. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising: under control of the client-side CMXconnection, negotiating a version of a client-side management processorand a corresponding server-side management processor, wherein theclient-side management processor and the server-side managementprocessor correspond to the service, and wherein the negotiationincludes sending a request with a client-side management processorversion as an argument using the client-side core processor to thesever-side CMX connection; and receiving from the server-side CMXconnection a minimum between an actual version of the correspondingserver-side management processor and the requested version of theclient-side management processor, wherein the client-side managementprocessor and the server-side management processor are marked asregistered.
 5. The method of claim 2, further comprising: under controlof the server-side CMX connection, in response to receiving asynchronous message from the client-side CMX connection, forwarding thesynchronous message to a management processor of the server-side CMXconnection, wherein the management processor generates a reply; andreturning the reply to the client-side CMX connection; and in responseto receiving an asynchronous message from the client-side CMXconnection, forwarding the synchronous message to a management processorof the server-side CMX connection.
 6. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: under control of the client-side CMX connection, in responseto receiving a synchronous message from the server-side CMX connection:forwarding the synchronous message to a management processor of theclient-side CMX connection, wherein the management processor generates areply; and returning the reply to the server-side CMX connection; and inresponse to receiving an asynchronous message from the server-side CMXconnection, forwarding the asynchronous message to a managementprocessor of the client-side CMX connection.
 7. The method of claim 2,wherein the client-side message queue accumulates and combinesinformation from multiple agents.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein theagent accumulates and combines information from multiple agents.
 9. Acomputer program product comprising a computer readable storage mediumstoring computer readable program code that, when run on a processor ofa client computer, causes the computer to: under control of an agent:receive a request from a first database client to access a service froma set of services, wherein the agent is associated with the service;receive a request from a second database client to access the service,wherein the agent is shared by the first database client and the seconddatabase client; combine information from the first database client andthe second database client; and send the combined information to theservice using a single physical connection in a client-side ClientManagement Extension (CMX) connection, wherein the first database clientand the second database client share the single physical connection. 10.The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the computer readableprogram code, when run on the processor, causes the computer to: undercontrol of the client-side CMX connection including a client-side coreprocessor, one or more client-side management processors, and aclient-side message queue: use a generic protocol that is used formultiple management functionalities for communication with a server-sideCMX connection.
 11. The computer program product of claim 10, whereinthe management functionalities include monitoring, control, andconfiguration functionalities.
 12. The computer program product of claim10, wherein the computer readable program code, when run on theprocessor, causes the computer to: under control of the client-side CMXconnection, negotiate a version of a client-side management processorand a corresponding server-side management processor, wherein theclient-side management processor and the server-side managementprocessor correspond to the service, and wherein the negotiationincludes sending a request with a client-side management processorversion as an argument using the client-side core processor to thesever-side CMX connection; and receive from the server-side CMXconnection a minimum between an actual version of the correspondingserver-side management processor and the requested version of theclient-side management processor, wherein the client-side managementprocessor and the server-side management processor are marked asregistered.
 13. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein thecomputer readable program code, when run on the processor, causes thecomputer to: under control of the server-side CMX connection, inresponse to receiving a synchronous message from the client-side CMXconnection, forward the synchronous message to a management processor ofthe server-side CMX connection, wherein the management processorgenerates a reply; and return the reply to the client-side CMXconnection; and in response to receiving an asynchronous message fromthe client-side CMX connection, forward the synchronous message to amanagement processor of the server-side CMX connection.
 14. The computerprogram product of claim 10, wherein the computer readable program code,when run on the processor, causes the computer to: under control of theclient-side CMX connection, in response to receiving a synchronousmessage from the server-side CMX connection: forward the synchronousmessage to a management processor of the client-side CMX connection,wherein the management processor generates a reply; and return the replyto the server-side CMX connection; and in response to receiving anasynchronous message from the server-side CMX connection, forward theasynchronous message to a management processor of the client-side CMXconnection.
 15. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein theclient-side message queue accumulates and combines information frommultiple agents.
 16. The computer program product of claim 9, whereinthe agent accumulates and combines information from multiple agents. 17.A client computer, comprising: a processor; and storage coupled to theprocessor, wherein the storage stores a computer program, and whereinthe computer program is executable by the processor to performoperations, the operations comprising: receiving a request from a firstdatabase client to access a service from a set of services, wherein theagent is associated with the service; receiving a request from a seconddatabase client to access the service, wherein the agent is shared bythe first database client and the second database client; combininginformation from the first database client and the second databaseclient; and sending the combined information to the service using asingle physical connection in a client-side Client Management Extension(CMX) connection, wherein the first database client and the seconddatabase client share the single physical connection.
 18. The clientcomputer of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise: undercontrol of the client-side CMX connection including a client-side coreprocessor, one or more client-side management processors, and aclient-side message queue: using a generic protocol that is used formultiple management functionalities for communication with a server-sideCMX connection.
 19. The client computer of claim 18, wherein themanagement functionalities include monitoring, control, andconfiguration functionalities.
 20. The client computer of claim 18,wherein the operations further comprise: under control of theclient-side CMX connection, negotiating a version of a client-sidemanagement processor and a corresponding server-side managementprocessor, wherein the client-side management processor and theserver-side management processor correspond to the service, and whereinthe negotiation includes sending a request with a client-side managementprocessor version as an argument using the client-side core processor tothe sever-side CMX connection; and receiving from the server-side CMXconnection a minimum between an actual version of the correspondingserver-side management processor and the requested version of theclient-side management processor, wherein the client-side managementprocessor and the server-side management processor are marked asregistered.
 21. The client computer of claim 18, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: under control of the server-side CMX connection, inresponse to receiving a synchronous message from the client-side CMXconnection, forwarding the synchronous message to a management processorof the server-side CMX connection, wherein the management processorgenerates a reply; and returning the reply to the client-side CMXconnection; and in response to receiving an asynchronous message fromthe client-side CMX connection, forwarding the synchronous message to amanagement processor of the server-side CMX connection.
 22. The clientcomputer of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise: undercontrol of the client-side CMX connection, in response to receiving asynchronous message from the server-side CMX connection: forwarding thesynchronous message to a management processor of the client-side CMXconnection, wherein the management processor generates a reply; andreturning the reply to the server-side CMX connection; and in responseto receiving an asynchronous message from the server-side CMXconnection, forwarding the asynchronous message to a managementprocessor of the client-side CMX connection.
 23. The client computer ofclaim 18, wherein the client-side message queue accumulates and combinesinformation from multiple agents. 24 The client computer of claim 17,wherein the agent accumulates and combines information from multipleagents.
 25. A system comprising: a client-side Client ManagementExtension (CMX) connection, wherein the client-side CMX connectionincludes a message queue, a core processor, management processors, anoutgoing message reader thread, an incoming message reader thread, and aphysical connection; a server-side CMX connection coupled to theclient-side CMX connection, wherein the server-side CMX connectionincludes a message queue, a core processor, management processors, anoutgoing message reader thread, an incoming message reader thread, and aphysical connection; and wherein the client-side CMX connection and theserver-side CMX connection communicate with each other using a genericprotocol that is used for multiple management functionalities.